District Attorney Hoovler Announces Prison Sentence in Drug Case Which Resulted in Fatal Overdose
Washingtonville Man Previously Pled Guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree for Selling Fentanyl to Man who Died After Ingesting the Drug
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Monday, June 24, 2024, Timothy Lempicki, age 37, of Washingtonville, was sentenced in Orange County Court to two (2) to six (6) years in prison relative to his guilty plea to Manslaughter in the Second Degree and three (3) years in prison to be followed by two (2) years of post-release supervision relative to his guilty plea to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree in connection with the death of a man who was found dead in the Town of New Windsor, on July 17, 2022. An autopsy revealed that the man had died due to a fatal overdose of the powerful narcotic fentanyl. At the time that he pled guilty, Lempicki admitted that on July 16, 2022, in the Village of Washingtonville, he had sold the fentanyl to the deceased man. Lempicki also admitted that at the time sold the drug, he knew, and consciously disregarded, a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the drug might have a lethal effect on the person he sold it to.
An investigation into the circumstances under which the man died was conducted by the Village of Washingtonville Police Department and the Town of New Windsor Police Department, who were aided by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Medical Examiner. The matter was investigated and presented to an Orange County Grand Jury.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Village of Washingtonville Police Department and the Town of New Windsor Police Department for their investigation into the fatal overdose, and the Village of Washingtonville Police Department for their arrest of Lempicki.
Since 2014, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has been following the same protocols when assisting its law enforcement partners who are investigating fatal overdoses as they do in homicide cases. This includes drafting search warrants and other documents to ensure that the locations where the narcotics were sold and ingested, as well as locations where people succumbed to overdoses, can be processed as crime scenes and that all available potential evidence is preserved. In some situations, New York State law does not permit the filing of homicide charges against those who sold the narcotics which have resulted in death. In those cases where homicide charges can be filed, the charge is frequently the class C felony of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, or the E felony of Criminally Negligent Homicide, which are lower classes of felonies than the class B felony of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree. Some states, including New Jersey, have laws which enact a strict liability standard, and impose enhanced punishment on those who sell narcotics to someone who dies as a result. New York Law imposes no such strict liability standard on those who sell drugs which result in fatal overdoses.
“Fentanyl is a clear and present danger that causes death wherever it is found,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “While my Office has prioritized proactive investigations into narcotics trafficking, in my opinion, New York State laws are in some respects inadequate to address the harm caused by drug dealers. The Legislature in New York State would do well to examine statutes enacted in other jurisdictions to address the issue of those who kill by dealing narcotics. That would be a substantial step in protecting New Yorkers who might fall victim to these substances.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mangold.
This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.